With a silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material, a dye image is usually formed in the following manner: first, silver halide particles, which underwent exposing, are reduced by an aromatic primary amine color developing agent; next, the resultant oxidation product of the color developing agent couples with couplers respectively forming yellow, magenta, and cyan dyes.
Couplers widely used for forming the cyan dye are phenol cyan couplers and naphthol cyan couplers.
The recent photographic industry witnessed a phenomenon resulting from the rapid progress in color photography has prompted a drastic increase in the amount of color negative films being treated, where the bleaching bath or bleach-fixing bath readily develops fatigue in the course of running treatment.
It was found that a naphthol compound conventionally widely used as a cyan coupler for a color negative film has a disadvantage; when such a film is treated with a fatigued bleaching bath or bleach-fixing bath, a cyan dye once formed reverts to a leuco matter, resulting in dye loss. To solve these problems, cyan couplers having a phenylureide group in the 2-position on a phenol was developed as described in Japanese Patent Open to Public Inspection (hereinafter referred to a Japanese Patent O.P.I. Publication) Nos. 21139/1972, 65134/1981, 204543/1982, 204544/1982, 204545/1982, 98731/1983, 187928/1983 and the like. This cyan coupler drastically improved the dye loss. However, these cyan couplers have a disadvantage regarding color reproduction; in relation to spectral absorption property, the dyes formed from these couplers, when compared with dyes formed from naphthol couplers, have a maximum absorption wavelength in a relatively shortwave range, hence greater absorption in the green range to a shortwave range. Human vision is especially sensitive to a green light. Therefore, even marginal reduction in green absorption contributes to greater improve in color reproduction as appreciated by human vision. This is because further improved cyan couplers are required.